Whispers In The Dark
by Seleen 2
Summary: She is alone in the dark, with only her Mysterious Stranger to comfort her. Its been so long and so painful, that she doesn't know which she desires more: Death or Freedom. Or if she'll even get the chance to choose.
1. Chapter 1

**Written during my first experience with High School detention…. Not bad. At least I got something done for once!**

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"_I'm scared." She whispered._

"_Don't be." He whispered back. " I've got you."_

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Alone in the dark, Hermione clung to the last shreds of her humanity. Caged in the cell below Malfoy Manor, filthy, injured, and starving, she felt like an abused an animal. She couldn't see, there was never any light. Not even when They came to hurt of her. Not ever when _he _came to see her. She didn't know who he was, or why he came to her. He just did. In a way, she looked forward to his visits; at least he talked to her in a civilized way. She never said anything back, though. What was there to say? She was imprisoned in a cell, in her enemies' estate, while they tortured her and bragged of how they had taken over her world. Nothing, no one, could save her now. Ron was dead. Harry was dead. They were all dead.

She wept.

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Pain. Pain like fire searing her veins, icicles forming in her lungs, freezing and piercing at the same time. Pain like boiling tar in her stomach, the acrid taste and foul smell clinging to everything, every part of her. She was real and not real. She watched from afar as her body was branded, beaten, and cursed. She saw them touch her and toy with her, driving her to the edge of painful and never ending insanity and then bringing her back moments before she could find peace. Even as she watched from the distance, she begged for death as the pain tore her into a thousand pieces and scattered her into space, depriving her of air. Depriving her of life.

She fell into blackness.

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Cool hands, soothing her injuries. Soft words, whispered to her in the dark. A small comfort in the hell that had become her life.

"Swallow, please. If you don't, you'll die and then I'll have failed. Failed you, failed them…failed myself." Cool drops against her dry, cracked lips. Water, sweet water, she parted her lips and let it drip into her mouth and down her aching throat. Her empty stomach cramped around it that small bit of liquid almost too much for it to handle. The voice whispered to her again and in the darkness, she felt it smooth her dirty hair back gently. "Thank you." She froze, unsure of herself. It had been so long since a gentle hand had touched her in such an innocent way. "Thank you." The whispers finally stopped.

She slept.

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Empty darkness and damp cold. That was all she knew. That and the mysterious stranger, who brought her water and bits of food. She didn't know what the food was, she could barely taste it and she could see nothing. She did not know who _he_ was. He never told her that, just whispered things to her in the dark. Unimportant things, like the activities of the outside world, which no longer concerned her. She stopped listening to his words, they were too painful. Instead, she heard only the soothing sound of his voice. The sound of humanity. The familiar sound of her cell opening startled her, making her scramble to a corner and curl into a small ball. Shaking, she squeezed her eyes shut and hoped it wouldn't hurt too much. Rough hands seized her and dragging her to her feet. A clammy hand trailed down her body. Another soon followed. And another. And another. Hands, everywhere, touching where they had no right to touch. Laughing, making lewd suggestions. Then, she knew. She knew what was about to happen and then it happened and pain exploded.

She screamed.

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She rocked back and forth. Not on her own, of course. She had lost the strength to move long ago. No, _he _was here again, this time holding her and whispering apologies to her in the dark.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I waited too long. I waited too damn long and now…" He didn't finish the sentence and she thought she felt something small and warm drop into her hair. A tear. No, tears. He was crying. Why was her mysterious stranger crying? Surely not because of what had happened to her. She was nothing, no one. Just a girl in a cell in a basement of a Manor full of sick, evil people who liked to hurt her. That was all. Not much of anything, really. He shouldn't cry because of her. She wanted to tell him not to, that there was nothing he could do for her and that he should just let her die, but she couldn't. She was no one, and therefore did not have voice.

"I'll get you out. You'll be safe. I promise." He drew a long, shuddering breath. "I promise."

She waited.

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"Crucio!"

Crucio. Cruciocruciocruciocrucio.

The word echoed in her head. The pain seared through her fragile body. If you could call it a body. It was more of a shell now. The shell of Hermione Granger. Images flashed through her mind of who she used to be. She used to be strong. Strong and smart, she had fought and she had lost. All her studying, her books, her cleverness, all for nothing. Absolutely nothing. And they used to call her the "Brightest Witch of her Age."

She laughed.

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"Are you ready?" His voice broke through the darkness, along with the sounds of shouts and explosions. There was an air of desperation to the way he spoke those three words.

Yes, she wanted to scream. Yes, I am ready for something, anything other then this hellhole I've been stuck in for so damn long. But she couldn't. She wasn't anyone anymore. There was no place for her in the outside world. This dark, dirty cell in the basement of Malfoy Manor was where she belonged. It was all she had left.

"Are you ready?" He repeated the question and she felt him take her hand.

She froze.

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**So that last bit was NOT what I originally intended, but I think it worked out rather well all together. No, this is not the end. This will be at least another chapter long, perhaps a few more. I'm also considering turning this into a short story series, but I'm not quite sure yet since I have a lot to do on here and in school, as my finals are coming up soon. In fact, I should probably be studying for my Spanish finals now… Ah the fanfiction addiction. How it hurts so good… I'll stop my rambling…**

**REVIEW and give me love, tell me how it is! –**

**Seleen. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Sister: Help me kill this spider!**

**Me: *sees spider* WAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! **

**Yeah, it was pretty pathetic. Epic girl shrieking though!**

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"Are you ready?" The question bounced around her mind as he pulled her to her feet, wanting to answer him, but it had been so long since she'd used her voice for anything but screaming.

"Take this, I doubt you can use it, but who knows." Her wand, he had given her back her wand. She clasped it as tightly as she could, holding onto it as a lifeline. He hoisted her into his arms, not trusting her to stand on her own.

"I'm scared." She whispered.

"Don't be," He whispered back. "I've got you."

She was shocked, her voice was so raspy and unfamiliar, she wanted to say more, but her throat ached from just those two words. She clung to him tightly, hating the pain that shot through her with every hurried step he took. And then the light hit her. She screamed from the sheer shock of it, bright and blinding, nothing like what she remembered it as.

"Shit, I forgot about your eyes." He muttered something and the stars that had exploded in her vision vanished, leaving her with a sense of wonder. And fear. She was in Malfoy Manor and the shouts and explosions she had heard were from the battle raging around her. She wished for the darkness again, so that she didn't have to witness this. She didn't want to have to see innocent people being harmed and not be able to help. She glanced up and instead of terror; she felt a weird sense of calm when she saw it was Draco Malfoy carrying her swiftly through the battle. A part of her had always known, she supposed, that he was her mysterious stranger.

"Malfoy, what's going on?" She asked, wondering how the Manor had been infiltrated.

"I really don't have time to explain if you want to make it out of here." He said, "Don't worry."

"Malfoy!"

Hermione's head whipped around. Rodolphus Lestrange blocked their path, wand at the ready. "Always knew you were soft, boy, but helping the mudblood escape?" He spat and she winced. "Despicable."

Malfoy set her on her feet and gave her a little shove towards the nearest door, eyes still focused completely on Lestrange. When he spoke, it was with a calm, even tone. Only his eyes betrayed a hint of panic. "Run. Run and don't stop running until you're safe. Even then, keep running."

She could barely stand up straight, but somehow she pushed herself to do as he said, taking off at an unsteady trot. Unable to stop herself, she slammed into the door and fumbled for the knob, yanking it open. Outside was the massive Malfoy garden, overgrown and wild since the Dark Lord had set up shop in their home. She pitied them and chanced a glance back at Draco, the reason she was, at long last, free. He was fighting Lestrange with all he had, but it wasn't going well. Her choice was made the second his concentration broke to see if she had made it out and he was hit with a stinging hex. With one last longing look at the garden, she spun and headed towards the dueling wizards as quickly as she could.

Lestrange was grinning manically, throwing curses at Draco. Hermione felt something, something burning and fierce rise inside her and she raised her wand,

"Avada Kedavra!"

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Draco spun wildly when his uncle dropped to the cold, marble floor, dead. Then he saw her. She was filthy and thin, but her hand held wand steady and she stared at his Uncle's body with something akin to a dark satisfaction, like she couldn't believe what she had done, but enjoyed it nonetheless.

He walked over to her, tugging her arm lightly, "Let's go. We need to get out of here, now. Or we'll never make it in time."

"Where are we going?" She asked, staring at him in a wide-eyed child like manner, like she hadn't just killed someone. He found it almost endearing. After everything she had been through, she retained some of her innocence.

"Somewhere safe." He told her, shielding her with his body as they hurried through the Manor. Soon she could barely walk though, her previous adrenaline depleted. Without a word, he lifted her into his arms, hating that it took almost no effort because of how much weight she had lost during her imprisonment. It was sick and disgusting and he wanted to torture everyone who had ever harmed her.

It took them some time, but eventually, he and Hermione made it out into the courtyard, where the Order was fighting relentlessly against the Death Eaters. Little did the Death Eaters know, it was all a diversion. They weren't here to try and end the war yet, that would take much more time. No, they were here, every single member of the Order, injured, retired, or still active, for _her. _A flash of red caught his eye.

"Ginny!" Draco shouted, trying to get the fierce girls attention. She was dueling two wizards single handedly, her fury over Hermione's capture fueling her. A hand tugged on his shirt and he looked down, seeing Hermione staring up at him with something he hadn't seen in her in a long time: Determination.

"Put me down, Draco." He obeyed, setting her down gently. Immediately, she was in motion, firing off curses at any and every Death Eater in sight, taking out Ginny's opponents as well as four others in a manner of seconds. She was shaking violently.

"Enough, Granger. You're too weak." He said, trying to get her to lower he wand.

"I am not weak, damn it!" She yelled, tears in her eyes. He knew how she felt. After months of imprisonment, of being tortured and violated, she felt like she had to prove that she was not broken, that she was still good for something.

"No, Granger, you are anything but weak. You're the strongest person I know, you didn't break during those months where others would have given in after a few days. But, Granger now is not the time or the place for this. Please, I risked everything to help you and now you need to help me. Let's go." He pleaded.

"He's right." Ginny said from behind them, a sad smile on her face. "Let's get you home, Hermione." She raised her wand and sent up gold and silver sparks. All around them, cheers went up.

_W_e'_ve got her!_

_Fall back, we've got her, she's safe!_

Draco felt a hand grasp his and together, they apparated to freedom.

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**So I admit, that last line was incredibly cheesy, but it seemed appropriate. I'm not sure if I want to make this longer, or just leave it at that. There's definitely more of a story here, but at the same time, it all seems so final. Anyways, review and leave me your thoughts, I WILL take them into consideration when I decide whether or not to add to this. Thanks for reading! -**

**Seleen. **

**Hi everyone! So I've officially decided to add on to this, in the form of a sequel called "Screams in the Shadows". It should be up soon, so if you liked this, check it out.  
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